Sorry I have not been posting much lately. I have been busy with a lot of things this summer, but will try and get back to more regular postings. I have plenty more things to share with you. Like this one.
I have always preferred instrumental tunes and Bill Black's Combo was a sound I dug from day one as a boy. Here is his 1960 single "Josephine." I posted the B-side to it three years ago. "Josephine" was one of eight songs by the combo that placed in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1962.
Smokie is a 1959 instrumental by Bill Black's Combo. The single was the first of four entries on the R&B chart and was successful, where it made to number one for four weeks, in early 1960. "Smokie, Part 2" also hit the top twenty on the pop singles chart.
Most people know the Part 2 version, but Part 1, with it's tinkly toy piano sound and faster tempo is my favorite of the two.
Here are both parts 1 & 2 for your listening pleasure
Dem Bones, Dry Bones or Dem Dry Bones is a well-known traditional spiritual song, used to teach basic anatomy to children, although its description is not anatomically correct. The melody was written by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938). Two versions of this traditional song are used widely, the second an abridgment of the first. The lyrics are based on Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the prophet visits the Valley of Dry Bones and causes them to become alive by God's command. Bill Black's Memphis honky tonk twist on this song was the flip side of his 'Josephine" single, released on Hi Records in 1960.
